Pedal Audit

The porch chill was losing its novelty, so I drifted indoors to check on the base of the upright piano. Hovering an inch off the parquet, the broad brass sustain pedal sat gleaming in the dim lamplight. Leaving an unverified cast-brass lever uninspected before bed seemed untidy. I took a sturdy stance, paused to calculate the counterweight, and bore down on the metal spade with both upper paws. Clunk-shhh. A heavy mechanical creak echoed from the dark interior, followed by a ghostly, velvet hum that vibrated straight through my seams. Impeccable dampening. I folded my limbs, leaning back against the green felt collar to let the strings drift off to sleep.